CITY ROOM; In Deal, Shoplifting Charge Against Giuliani's Daughter Will Be Dismissed

By JOHN ELIGON

Published: September 1, 2010

Updated 2:27 p.m. | The daughter of the former mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani struck a deal in court on Tuesday to get her shoplifting charges dismissed.

Caroline Giuliani, 21, made a quick appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court, where prosecutors offered her an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, meaning that if she serves a day of community service and stays out of trouble for six months, the case against her will be dismissed.

Ms. Giuliani will do her community service for the Sanitation Department, though the details have not yet been worked out.

Ms. Giuliani, who appeared in court in a gray knit V-neck dress, was arrested this month after she was caught at the cosmetics store Sephora on the Upper East Side with items from the store in her coat pocket.

Anne M. Siegel, an assistant district attorney, said in court that Ms. Giuliani was caught with merchandise valued at $100.50. Pursuant to the office's guidelines for first-time, low-level shoplifters, Ms. Siegel said, Ms. Giuliani was being given the dismissal offer.

Ms. Giuliani and her lawyer, Isabelle Kirshner, did not say anything inside or outside of court.

Ms. Giuliani, a student at Harvard, is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 4 for a status conference on her community service.

The Manhattan district attorney's office said it handled Ms. Giuliani's case no differently than most involving first-time offenders accused of low-level crimes. According to data provided by the office, 65 percent of fthe 2,100 or so first-time petty larceny cases involving a value of about $100 or less were given adjournments in contemplation of dismissal in 2009. In 32 percent of those cases, the defendant pleaded guilty to a reduced charge, like disorderly conduct, which is a violation.

Ms. Giuliani, accompanied by her mother but not by the former mayor, ambled out of the courthouse amid a swirl of cameras and hopped into a black sport-utility vehicle.

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.